1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus, a method and a computer program for analyzing a network flow.
2. Description of Related Art
Communication networks, e.g. networks according to the Internet Protocol (IP) are complex and difficult to analyze and to monitor with respect to the end-to-end network traffic flows, also denoted as network flows. A known protocol for analyzing a network flow is the NetFlow protocol that is currently being standardized by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). Details are provided in IETF IP Flow Information Export (IPFIX) at http://www.ieft.org/html.charters/ipfix-charter.html.
The NetFlow protocol provides technology for network accounting, bandwidth usage analysis, network anomaly detection, traffic engineering and capacity management.
NetFlow is supported at routers, switches, metering appliances and software-based traffic meters. Some high-end routers and switches support NetFlow with dedicated hardware extensions.
The realization of extensions in a router or switch for NetFlow or for other network analysis protocols is typically expensive because the extension has to be well integrated into the specific forwarding and routing architecture of the router or switch.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved solutions for network flow analysis. It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved apparatus, an improved method, an improved computer system and an improved computer program for analyzing a network flow.